The Bogalusa City School Board met privately in Executive Session for only about a half hour during its regular meeting Thursday, then came back and announced that it had decided to offer Lisa Tanner a contract to replace Willie “Toni” Breaux as superintendent.
Adam Kemp, chair of the board’s Personnel Committee, made the announcement, then a roll call vote showed the choice was unanimous.
Tanner is currently the principal at Franklinton High School, where she helmed that school’s transition to becoming the first “B” high school in Washington Parish in 2012. FHS was recognized as one of the top three schools in the state for the highest ACT growth in 2014, and in 2015 was recognized as a “B” school for the third time in Washington Parish, with the highest 
score of a 94.7.
In 1993 Tanner herself was named the Teacher of the Year for the Bogalusa City School System, and Who’s Who Among America’s High School Teachers recognized her as a “Person Who Makes a Difference in Bogalusa, Louisiana.”
She has a Masters of Education plus 30 degree, and continues her accreditation at Southeastern Louisiana University.
In her application she stated, “As Superintendent of Bogalusa City Schools, I would strive to be the instructional leader for the system, who would prioritize student achievement and act in the best interest of all students enrolled in the Bogalusa City School System.
“I would strive to instill pride and dedication throughout the system to ensure academic success as the Superintendent of the Bogalusa City School System.”
Tanner showed up at the meeting shortly after the announcement was made, and the meeting attendees gave her a round of applause. The individual members of the board congratulated her, and many also thanked Breaux for her service.
“I was pretty amazed at the quality of the candidates,” said Board President Curtis Creel. “I welcome Ms. Tanner. You have a monumental task, but the board is here for you. We have some mountains to climb.”
Breaux, who had previously announced her resignation, effective June 30, congratulated Tanner and said, “It’s a big job. The students should come first, and I believe the teachers should come second.
“I think we got a good person. We’ll be communicating a lot.”
In other business, the board approved the request to declare Pleasant Hill, Long Avenue and Columbia Street schools surplus property, approved revised financial statements and budgets, and approved the distribution of sales tax checks the first week in May.